The Muslim community has been divided following a heated exchange between two respected Islamic clerics, Sheikh Muhammed Adam and Sheikh Sulaimon Farooq, popularly known as Onikijipa.
Sheikh Adam, the leader of the Markaz Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Agege, Lagos, accused Onikijipa of using diabolical means to cause his recent illness. He made this claim on Sunday during the 2025 Ramadan Tafseer Programme at his institution.
Speaking to his congregation, Adam alleged that Onikijipa had always been at odds with his late father, Sheikh Adam, over the exclusion of his father’s name from a book listing notable Islamic scholars.
Before the lecture, Adam had also claimed that Onikijipa should be considered his subordinate, stating:
“I had finished an advanced class, gone to Kano to learn more, and returned to Markaz to lecture before Sulaimon Farooq even started his elementary class. Who am I fighting with? How can he say my father offended him by not listing his father’s name? Who is even his father? His father is not the heir of the Onikijipa lineage.”
Adam then narrated how his illness began in 2022. He recalled two events in Ilorin where he believed something suspicious happened.
“The first time, I was at a wedding when one of his boys used a handkerchief to rub my neck. The second time, at another wedding, he had arrived before me and was pretending to welcome me. As I sat down, he put something in my pocket. I didn’t notice immediately because I was wearing ‘Agbada’.
“When I stood to speak, I lost it immediately. My speech became distorted. Clerics had to rush to my aid. Later, my PA discovered that he had placed two gourds in my pocket. He claimed they were for protection, but he took them back when my people insisted. Later, he returned with more items to place on my head, but my son resisted.”
Adam named three Islamic scholars—Dr. Olaoti, Alfa Haroon Rosheed, and Alhaji Yusuf Hamrah—who, he claimed, heard Onikijipa say he was paralyzed.
In response, Onikijipa, speaking in Ilorin on Sunday, denied the allegations and swore with the Quran to prove his innocence.
“This is the Quran, and we are in the month of Ramadan. Since I began my life, I have never sworn with the holy book, but I will do so today.
“God, I am in Your house. If I, Sulaimon Farooq, the son of Aminat, know anything about Mudir Markaz’s illness, let the curses in this holy book be upon me. But if I don’t, and they are framing me, let the curses be upon them,” he said, repeating the oath four times.
However, Onikijipa did not respond to Adam’s claims about superiority and lineage.
Both clerics are widely respected in the Southwest and parts of northern Nigeria, making this controversy a major topic of discussion among their followers.
